MKO

[2019] North American Kendama Open (NAKO) Recap!

Tags: alex smith, bryan scagline, daunye synigal, downspike, dylan westmoreland, haley bishoff, josh kim, Kendama USA, logan tosta, MKO, motty, nako, Nick Gallagher, Nobu Nori, oliver malby, Sweets Kendamas, Wyatt Bray, zach magnuson

November 5, 2019 0

We had a blast hanging with the Kendama community at this year’s NAKO event; renamed from Minnesota Kendama Open (MKO). Repping KUSA were Bryan Scagline, Zach Magnuson, Nobu Nori, Rui Sora, Josh Kim, Daunyé Synigal, Dylan Westmoreland, Oliver Malby, Haley Bishoff, Wyatt Bray, Logan Tosta and Alex Smith. Great job to all those that competed, especially Zach Magnuson who took third in open, Oliver Malby who took third in freestyle, Nobu Nori who took second in freestyle, and Josh Kim who won the Yank Spike Contest!

The competition this year was great! So many players coming from all over the country to play Kendama is always such an amazing and unique experience. And the new venue this year was amazing. The first two days in the hotel were perfect for jamming Kendama and watching the competition go down! And the last day in the Varsity Theater was incredible to see the finals take place! Good Kendama, awesome friends, and amazing weather on Sunday made this weekend unforgettable! Congratulations to Motty for taking first in Open, and Nick Gallagher for taking first in Freestyle! Kendama USA was proud to be able place on every podium this year! We can’t wait to see our players compete at other competitions and the next NAKO!

Post competition on Saturday, the Downspike awards were a huge success! Getting to award the community for all their hard work and creative genius is the best. Thank you to Alex Smith and the Sander Brothers for hosting! Make sure to get on Downspike at downspike.com, or download the mobile app on your phone to always be in the loop with Kendama! And that’s right, Colin Sander was at NAKO this year helping judge freestyle and host the Downspike Awards! Hopefully we will be seeing more of Colin in upcoming events. And of course, a special thank you to Sweets Kendamas and all of the gracious volunteers for hosting another great event!

Thank you again, until next year MN!

Kendama USA x KDMA // Official MKO Warm Up Mix

Events / News / Team

Tags: jake wiens, Kaizen Kendama, KDama, KDMA, kendama, Kendama Mix, kendama music, kendama toy, Kendama USA, kendamausa, KSUA, kusa, Minnesota kendama open, MKO

October 22, 2016 0

MKO is around the corner and everyone is getting prepared for the contest. Each year the freestyle contest gets more and more intense as overall skill and creativity evolves in the Kendama world. The finals is without a doubt one of the most hype moments during the contest. This year we are very excited to have our very own Jake Wiens on stage not as an MC or a competitor but as a DJ! Jake has been producing mixes catered to Kendama play and is taking his skills LIVE to the main stage to provide the beats to fuel the freestyle gladiators as they put their skills to the test.

Jake has put together a live recording of his “SESH” mixtape that features a taste of whats to come during the freestyle contest. Make sure to download the mix for free, grab some homies, and SESH!

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD NOW!

https://soundcloud.com/jakewiens/sesh-mko-warm-up-mix

TRACK LISTING

MAD TING – SWINDLE
DROP DOWN – LADY BEE
Heard Me – RL GRIME
Sweat Dreams – HEX COUGAR
Tambo Remix – MR CARMACK
Animal – BRO SAFARI , UFO!
ili – TROYBOI
ODB Shimmy Shimmy Ya – MR CARMACK
Voyage Feat. Zepher – PART NATIVE
Ceramic Drips – MORE//NIGHT
Meet in the Middle (REMIX) – EKALI

MKO Recap by Haley Bishoff

News / Team / Uncategorized

Tags: Japan, Japanese, Kadama, Kadoma, kendama, Kendama USA, kendamausa, kendema, kindama, MKO, Sweets Kendamas, Tribe Team, Tribute, tribute kendama

November 28, 2015 0

MKO 2015 was definitely one to remember. It’s always such a joy to see players from all over the world gather in one place and grow as a community. Congratulations to all the competitors, especially Nic Stodd and Jake Fischer for throwing down one of the most impressive freestyle battles of all time and Zack Gallagher for taking the title of MKO Champion!

Huge thanks to everyone at Sweets Kendamas who worked so hard to make this unforgettable event and KendamaUSA for the continual support. See you next year!